The amendment to the law on significant investments, which the Slovak Parliament adopted in June throws Slovakia back twenty years in time, claim opposition leaders and representatives of the civil association which oppose a crude oil pipeline project across the Slovak capital. The chairman of the association “No to the Pipeline”, Miroslav Dragun, said they had been talking with opposition parties to win support to override the law.
“The goal is that opposition MPs find the thirty signatures needed to file a motion with the Constitutional Court to contest the law,“ Dragun added. They believe it creates wider conditions under which it is possible to expropriate private property. Another reason for criticism is the fact that the law excludes local self-governments from the process of expressing an opinion as to the relevant authority in land use proceedings with the exception of mining projects. They are concerned that the government plans to apply the law to force through the crude oil pipeline project in Bratislava.
According to the approved law, a significant investment is one costing at least €100 million and creating at least three hundred new jobs. Opposition MP Peter Osusky says the law is harmful in its essence because decisions on matters that directly affect people at the elementary level are to be made somewhere far away from them. “Restricting the right of citizens to comment on projects on their territory is a dangerous trend against which we must fight,” he said. The Bratislava Region’s Head Pavol Frešo challenged the Economy Ministry to clearly state whether it intends to apply this law to break the will of the people of Bratislava regarding the disputed pipeline route planned to run through the capital. Last week, the Economy Minister Tomas Malatinský stated that the Bratislava–Schwechat Pipeline is on the list of projects of common regional interest and that he considers the approval of this list by the European Union as “an important fact that confirms the accuracy and relevance of arguments and subsequent decisions related to this project ".
